"The best book about politics ever written for children." —The Washington Post
50th Anniversary Edition, now in paperback
DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY OF THE PUSHCART WAR? THE REAL HISTORY?
It’s a story of how regular people banded together and, armed with little more than their brains and good aim, defeated a mighty foe.
Not long ago the streets of New York City were smelly, smoggy, sooty, and loud. There were so many trucks making deliveries that it might take an hour for a car to travel a few blocks. People blamed the truck owners and the truck owners blamed the little wooden pushcarts that traveled the city selling everything from flowers to hot dogs. Behind closed doors the truck owners declared war on the pushcart peddlers. Carts were smashed from Chinatown to Chelsea. The peddlers didn’t have money or the mayor on their side, but that didn’t stop them from fighting back. They used pea shooters to blow tacks into the tires of trucks, they outwitted the police, and they marched right up to the grilles of those giant trucks and dared them to drive down their streets. Today, thanks to the ingenuity of the pushcart peddlers, the streets belong to the people—and to the pushcarts.
The Pushcart War was first published more than fifty years ago. It has inspired generations of children and been adapted for television, radio, and the stage around the world. It was included on School Library Journal’s list of One Hundred Books That Shaped the Twentieth Century, and its assertion that a committed group of men and women can prevail against a powerful force is as relevant in the twenty-first century as it was in 1964.
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From the Publisher
The Pushcart War had a profound impact on me; when I was a kid I devoured it several times, and I’ve carried it deep inside me ever since. The book gave me a point of entrance–my first, I imagine–into the world of resistance to political and economic injustice and chicanery. It made opposition, even nonviolent civil disobedience, seem fun and right and necessary and heroic, and something even someone as powerless as a kid could and should undertake.” —Tony Kushner“Finally, parents can get their hands on new copies of the best book about politics ever written for children. . . . This lively, lovely novel is an argument for staying hopeful about the possibility of bringing about change, even when you are going up against entrenched and powerful interests.” —Alyssa Rosenberg, The Washington Post
“A book about friendship and sticking together and sticking up for yourself, especially against The Man. Plus it’ll just make you feel all warm and fuzzy.” —Emily Temple, Flavorwire
“This is one of the great children’s classics. . . . Part of its charm is its old–New York quaintness, but the exciting story, set in the pressure-cooker of city traffic, is timeless.” —Sonja Bolle, Newsday
“Merrill’s story, full of unexpected reversals and understated witticisms, feels exceptionally modern. And by the end—after the two sides have hammered out a peaceful and deeply reasonable compromise—one can only hope that we’ll catch up to Merrill’s future one day.” —Adam Mansbach, NPR, You Must Read This
“This is satire on almost every conceivable aspect of modern urban life. . . .To all it should be funny, and to many it will have the disturbing ring of truth.” —School Library Journal, starred review
“The tale of New York’s pushcart peddlers waging war against the monstrous, bullying trucks is droll—as are Ronni Solbert’s illustrations—but its message remains urgent.” —Nicole Rudick, The Paris Review blog
“There’s a children’s book that was of great help to me, The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill. It is quite a wonderful description of how to run a campaign.” —Bill McKibben, The Boston Globe
School Library Journal
02/01/2016
Gr 4–6—It's war! The battlefields are the streets of New York City, and the weapons are pea shooters. Up in arms because traffic jams slow down their deliveries, the truck owners aim to get the pushcarts out of the picture. But the pushcart peddlers won't go down without a fight. The setting of this 50th-anniversary edition has been updated to 2036 (the book originally was set in 1974, and each edition has updated the year in which it takes place to reflect a not-too-distant future). An unusual children's book—few children actually appear—SLJ included this innovative work on its "One Hundred Books That Shaped the Century" and lauded it as "social satire for children in its finest form." As with many of the late author's books, Merrill tells with dexterity the tale of underdogs who persevere in the face of injustice. This strikingly original work should continue to find fans among children and adults alike.—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal
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